


Simplicity

by brightlikeloulou



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eric is still important, Established Relationship past the first chapter, Falling In Love, Fluff, Getting Together, Gracie does not exist in this fic, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Past threatened Rape/Non-Con, Polyamory, Rickyl Friendship, Slow Burn, Threesome - M/M/M, Understanding Jesus&Daryl, after that it’s just stuff I wanna add, and Aaron and Eric were married before Eric died, depressed Aaron, first chapter is the build up, lots of love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-08-23 12:09:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16618703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightlikeloulou/pseuds/brightlikeloulou
Summary: Losing Eric had shattered Aaron.Three years after his death, he found himself falling in love again, with two different men, two men that were already together.The relationship between the three of them was eventually established, and Aaron felt calm again. He was never going to choose what relationship was better or worse, him and Eric, or him and Daryl and Jesus. Both relationships were so incredibly different that they couldn't even be compared.All Aaron cared about, was that he was happy and in love again, and he had two amazing men that loved him too.---This fic is basically, a series of related one-shots revolving around Jaaryl and their relationship. The first chapter is the original one-shot which has all of the build-up to their relationship, all chapters after that, are just things that I want to add.





	1. Chapter 1

When he lost Eric, it felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest and thrown into a bonfire.

He and Eric had been together since they were a few years out of college. Eight years, Aaron had had Eric right by his side and living his life with him.

When he and Eric first met, they were seniors in college and Eric had a boyfriend at the time, some jock of a guy on a basketball scholarship or something like that. He was a perfectly lovely guy, and really, Aaron should have had no problem with him, but his burning jealousy due to his own feelings for Eric made him severely despise the basketballer. But, he was always nice to him for Eric's sake.

Four years Eric and the basketball guy, William, were together. Aaron and Eric were twenty-four when Eric and William had broken up. By that time, Aaron was sure he was over his feelings for Eric, he had even been dating another guy for a couple of months. But then Eric had shown up at his apartment door one night, with a duffel bag thrown over his shoulder and tear stains down his face.

All of his feelings came rushing back to him at once, and he let Eric into his apartment that eventually became theirs.

Aaron didn't make a move right away, but he did break up with the guy he was seeing because he didn't see it fair to lead him on. He was what Eric needed him to be, and that was a friend, a shoulder to cry on, someone to support him.

It was six months after the break up that Aaron had finally kissed Eric. It was late at night, and they were walking home from having gone out for a nice dinner with some friends.

Eric had been laughing about something that Aaron said, and he wished he could remember what, Eric had just looked so beautiful that Aaron had to kiss him.

They had kissed for a long time, falling against the wall of a building at one point because they were too distracted to be able to stand correctly. The kiss had started as hard and fast, Aaron's feelings running high, but when Eric's hands gently cupped Aaron's face and played with his curls, it gradually changed until it was tender and sweet.

After that, they had returned home and made love for hours.

Four years later, they got married. Neither of them had supportive families, so they walked each other down the aisle, and their friends were the ones who watched the two of them exchange vows and become husbands.

And though Aaron ultimately lost Eric, he was glad for the years he had with him, before and after the outbreak. Those first years in the outbreak, before Rick came along and led the people of Alexandria to a sustainable life, Aaron knew that he wouldn't have been able to make them without Eric.

Aaron had two years with Eric after the outbreak before he was killed protecting their people and their future.

When he lost him, he wasn't okay for a long time. He left The Hilltop, and left people behind for a few weeks and went to the place of Eric's death to search for him. He hadn't been able to put him down when he died, let him go properly and peacefully, instead, Eric wandered the woods with a bunch of things he did not deserve to be.

Daryl had tried to go with him. Daryl didn't want Aaron going out alone in the mindset that he was in, told him it wasn't safe for him. And while Aaron did understand that, he needed to be alone, he needed to do it alone.

So he left, with Daryl watching him drive away from The Hilltop's guard tower at the gates, and Jesus and Maggie standing just inside them. All three of them looked defeated that their attempts hadn't succeeded, but really Aaron knew that they must have known that he wouldn't change his mind.

When Aaron returned to The Hilltop two weeks later, he felt a little calmer now that he knew Eric had properly passed on. He was laid out carefully on the back and wrapped in a white sheet because Aaron couldn't handle the sight of how his face had changed.

Aaron had sobbed as he had wrestled Eric to the ground and slid the knife through his skull.

He had found him in the woods about two kilometers from where Aaron had last seen him on the day he died. He was down by a river which was fitting because Eric had always loved the water.

When he was through the front gates of The Hilltop, he drove the car as close to the grave sites as he could possibly get it and carefully took Eric's body in his arms again and carried him to an empty spot.

After laying Eric down on the grass, he headed for the shed that stood nearby and searched for a shovel, and once he had one, he walked back to the spot he had chosen and began to dig. The sting in his eyes was almost unbearable as he dug his husband's grave.

He had been digging for about forty minutes when he heard footsteps approaching, and within minutes, Daryl returned from the shed with a shovel of his own and cautiously began to help Aaron dig, unsure as to whether Aaron was going to tell him he wanted to be alone.

The two of them didn't speak, and Aaron was glad for that. He had always respected that about Daryl, the man always knew when to and when not to talk, and he always knew what to say. And though it was clear he struggled with it sometimes, he knew how to be there for someone.

It took them a few hours to complete digging Eric's grave, and the sun was beginning to set overhead as the two of them carefully lifted Eric up and then lowered him into the grave. Once they'd laid him down, Aaron couldn't help the sob that escaped from his throat, and he squeezed his eyes shut to try and prevent the tears that wanted to spill down his cheeks.

He turned to face away from the grave and held his hands over his face, trying to breathe through the sobs that wracked through his body.

He stood by himself for a few minutes before Daryl approached behind, and he did nothing more than wrap an arm around Aaron's shoulder and pull him a little closer until Aaron was ready to finish burying Eric.

 

* * *

  

Three years after his husband's death, Aaron had found himself in a little situation. The situation was that he'd been having feelings for two other men.

He remembered the day Daryl had told him that he and Jesus were together. Two and a half years ago, he and Daryl had been on guard duty, Aaron was eating an apple and Daryl was smoking when Daryl finally came out and said that he and Paul had gotten together. Aaron wasn't surprised in the slightest, Daryl had been confiding in Aaron about his feelings for Jesus for months, and Aaron had given him all the advice he could offer.

It was evident that Daryl didn't want to at first, that he felt guilty speaking about a man he was getting to know and was interested in in a romantic sense when Aaron was still recently widowed. Aaron had drawn it out of him, explaining that he needed to get a sense of normalcy back in his life, and talking to his best friend about their crush, seemed like a way to do it.

At that time, Aaron had no romantic feelings for either of the men. He would never have guessed that he ever would either, he didn't think he could after Eric. Sure, he was aware that both Daryl and Jesus were great people and made an extremely attractive couple, but he didn't think much of it.

For months, he didn't even realise the feelings he was having were romantic feelings. He thought the fondness he felt for Daryl was just because the man was his best friend and had helped him through the hardest time in his life, and due to Jesus being Daryl's partner, Aaron had become close with him as well and cared for him deeply too. For a long time, he thought everything was platonic.

He realised he had feelings for Daryl first. The man had been sick, somehow catching a cold or something of the sorts even though it wasn't even winter at that time.

As it was almost three years after the war, The Hilltop had come a long way, the walls had been extended, and small houses had been built as most of the trailers were finally giving out. Maggie, being the brilliant leader that she was, gave one of the first houses to Daryl and Jesus despite their protests, she made sure they understood that they had done so much for the community and deserved to have a proper home.

There were about eight houses now, and most families lived in them, while others still lived in the bedrooms in Barrington House, Aaron, for example, is in a small bedroom on the bottom floor. He hadn't been able to heart living in Alexandria after the war, his and Eric's house held too many painful memories.

After taking Daryl to see Siddiq and be reassured that it was just a simple cold and that he was going to be okay, Aaron took Daryl back to his and Jesus' house. Daryl was huffy about Aaron's worry and reassured him he was fine and didn't need to be babied.

"Jesus isn't going to be back from his scavenger trip for another week. He wouldn't want you to be alone, he'd look after you if he were here, but he isn't, and I am." Aaron had told him as the two of them made their way up the stairs.

Upstairs only held the ensuite bedroom and another small room that they used as an office. The kitchen, dining and lounge area all being on the first floor of the house.

As Aaron and Daryl stepped through the doorway and into the bedroom, Aaron felt slightly out of place as he helped Daryl get into the bed. Aaron had been in their house what could be a hundred times before, but he had never been in their bedroom before. He almost felt like he was invading some sort of privacy as he pulled the covers up Daryl's chest.

"Why don't you get some sleep while I go make you some dinner?" Aaron asked softly, gently placing the back of his hand on Daryl's forehead, and he thought he saw Daryl's throat bob.

"You don't gotta," Daryl finally said, blinking up at Aaron and then turning his mouth into his arm as he coughed loudly.

Aaron sighed heavily, and without thinking, pushed some hair out of Daryl's face once the man was done coughing. "You looked after me for a long time, and looking after a depressed person is a lot harder than looking after someone with the flu. Daryl I owe a lot to you and Paul, just let me cook you some dinner, please," He said to the other man, and Daryl looked up at him with something that could have been sadness.

"Okay," Daryl finally said in reply, shifting against the sheets.

Satisfied, and with a confusing feeling, Aaron made his way down into the kitchen to cook the sick man some dinner. He knew that spaghetti would probably be the easiest and quickest to make, but he hadn't been able to prepare Eric's recipe since he had died.

He sighed shakily and instead begin searching through the freezer to see what meat the couple had.

After an hour, dinner was made and on the table and Aaron headed back up to the bedroom to collect Daryl.

He opened the bedroom door quietly and then stepped into the room. He found Daryl just where he left him, on his back with the covers pulled up his chest and a peaceful expression on his face as soft breaths flowed from his parted lips.

Aaron approached him carefully and looked the man over. Seeing Daryl so peaceful and soft, sent a lurching in Aaron's stomach and he swallowed thickly, not thinking he was ready to accept what he was feeling. Daryl was always fussing around, doing things for other people and whatever needed to be done. The only time when Aaron would see him at peace was whenever he was with Paul.

Aaron almost didn't want to wake him up, but the quicker Daryl got up to eat, the faster Aaron would have been able to leave and get his head together. He was on the verge of a breakdown, guilt consumed him. It had been three years, but he still felt like he was betraying Eric.

 

* * *

 

A few weeks after that, there was a bonfire dinner at The Hilltop. As the night grew older, the children returned to their homes and headed to sleep while some of the adults continued to mingle and hang around the fire.

Aaron, Daryl, and Jesus were a little ways off than the others, Aaron was sat on the front steps of Barrington House, and Daryl and Jesus were sitting on the grass in front of him. While Aaron's attention was usually on Daryl, that night it had been all over Jesus, ever since he had seen the man playing with Maggie's toddler, tickling his tummy and kissing all over his cheeks. It was like the feelings for Jesus had hit Aaron all at once. The man looked so beautiful in the glowing light of the bonfire and smiling broadly at the little boy squirming and squealing in his arms.

The churning in Aaron's stomach was overwhelming, and he could've almost vomited. He was a mess of overwhelming feelings, and he didn't know what to do with himself. He had tried to distance himself from Daryl when he first realised his feelings, but he was just so drawn to the man he couldn't, and Jesus meant as much to him as Daryl did, and he knew he wouldn't be able to distance himself from him either.

With a heavy sigh, Aaron watched as Jesus pulled Daryl into his lap and kissed him, Daryl was a little tipsy, so he didn't mind about the display of affection.

"I love you, sweetheart," Jesus said.

"Love you," Daryl immediately replied and leaned forward to kiss Jesus again.

Aaron sighed heavily and watched them for a few moments before looking over to the dying bonfire, swallowing the thick lump in his throat as he wished that Daryl and Jesus said those words to him too.

It had been almost a month since that, and Aaron had been hopelessly crushing on both Daryl and Jesus since. He was an emotional mess, guilty because he still felt like he was betraying Eric, even though he had passed years ago. The guilt was also over the fact that Daryl and Jesus, were in a loving and committed relationship, and Aaron didn't want to do anything to ruin that for them or to mess up his close bond and friendship with the two men.

Daryl and Aaron had been on the building site of the newest work in progress house. The two of them were cutting some wood for paneling, both on opposites sides of the plank and Aaron was zoned out. Daryl was talking about something, but Aaron wasn't listening, his mind spiraling as to what it would be like if something actually happened with him and Jesus and Daryl.

Daryl had finally said his name loud enough that Aaron realised, and when he looked up, Daryl's face was barely a foot from his own, and the man's ocean blue eyes were looking at him expectantly.

Aaron wasn't sure what had come over him. He had glanced down at Daryl's lips, and before he realised what he was doing, he had leaned forward and placed his lips on the other man's. Daryl gasped against his lips, and there was a brief moment where he kissed him back before Aaron got to his senses and removed himself from the other man.

They both gaped at each other with wide eyes.

"Shit," Aaron finally gasped and stumbled back a few steps. "Fuck, I don't know why I did that, I'm so sorry," He began to stutter.

"Aaron," Daryl said and took a few steps towards him, holding out a hand to try and steady him because he tripped again over something else. "Jus' relax," He said, and Aaron found that hypocritical because Daryl himself looked like he was seconds away from freaking out.

Aaron shook his head, "I'm so sorry," He said, and then spun on his heels and rushed away.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Aaron was on the back balcony of Barrington House, the sun setting around him as he looked out at the woods. He had tear stains down his cheeks, and the most upsetting thing to him was, that Eric was probably the only one who could tell him what to do.

He had been up there alone for a few hours when the door opened, and he heard the footsteps of two people joining him on the balcony.

He was forced to look at them when they sat down in front of him with their backs against the railing, blocking his view of the woods.

Daryl and Jesus sat in front of him, and Aaron was immediately filled with nervousness at the sight of the bearded man.

"You here to beat the shit out of me for kissing your boyfriend?" Aaron asked, quirking a brow slightly. He knew Jesus' wouldn't, especially because he's sat down in front of him and smiling warmly at him, not looking like he wanted to beat his face in.

"Of course not," Jesus said, and Aaron eyed where he was stroking his thumb over Daryl's knuckles. Aaron looked over at Daryl, found the man with flushed red cheeks, and chewing around his thumbnail. "Maybe I'm a little jealous that you kissed Daryl first," He then said, the words took Aaron by surprise, along with the playful smirk on his face.

"What?" Aaron said quietly, as he swiped his tongue over his dry lips nervously. His gut churned again, he wasn't sure if it was with nerves or excitement.

Jesus chuckled softly and looked over at Daryl for a moment, smiled at him and leaned over to peck his cheek and whisper something in his ear before he focused on Aaron again. "We can be adults about this, discuss it properly, so we all know what page we're on. Avoid miscommunication, I think communication is going to be the key with this."

Aaron watched them as he took in Jesus' words, the slope of Jesus’ cute nose and his wide eyes, Daryl's ridiculous cheekbones and messy hair. "Well," He said as he fiddled with his fingers. "What page are you two on?" He asked quietly, he was dreading and anticipating their answer, his mind running wild with possibilities.

Jesus smiled at him again, and Aaron wished he was holding his hand too. "Daryl has feelings for you. I have feelings for you. We still love each other, and we want to stay together. We need to know whether we need to get over these feelings, or if you would be interested in a polyamorous relationship," he explained, finally appearing nervous himself.

Aaron swallowed thickly as he his eyes flickered between them. It took him a long time to answer, "I've been thinking about that too, and I know it's what I want. It's just… Hard, I still love Eric so much, I'm never going to stop, I don't know if that's something that's going to going to bother you two. And I don't know how long it's going to take for me not to feel guilty," was his reply, and he said it nervously.

Then, Daryl finally decided to speak for the first time since he had sat down. "Aaron, you were married to Eric. You were together for a long time, we ain't ever going to be upset that you still love him."

Aaron smiled at him softly, and then Jesus captured his attention. "And Aaron, as for the guilt, I know it would have to be so hard, but don't you think that he would want you to be happy?" He asked him softly, and Aaron knew that he was right, he really did, but it was still hard to accept.

"I know that I do. It's just… I wish I could talk to him about it." Aaron replied quietly, running a hand through his full beard.

"We get that," Jesus said, still smiling at him. "If this is too much right now, we can talk about it in a few days. Give us all a few days to process, think some things through."

Aaron was quiet for a moment, pondering Jesus’ words as he looked down at his lap. "Yeah, okay. Maybe we could have dinner on Friday night?" He said, realising he had basically just asked them on a date after the words had already spilled from his mouth.

He smiled himself when both men did so too. "That sounds great," Jesus said and then proceeded to turn his head and kiss Daryl's jaw.

 

* * *

  

Things seemed to fall into place after that. The three of them talked in detail to make sure all three of them were on the same page and comfortable.

Aaron wanted it to be clear that he was still dealing with his depression, though he was a lot better than what he had been when Eric had first died, he still had bad days and moments. Both Jesus and Daryl understood that, and they had both already seen him at his worse, and they were happy to be there for Aaron when he needed them.

They had started off by hanging out as they usually did, eating meals together or drinking and playing card games. There was a little more affection involved, Aaron slowly got used to kissing again. Daryl kissed shyly and softly, careful hands caressing arms or his waist. Jesus kissed confidently, he knew what he was doing and he liked doing it, he would cup Aaron's cheeks and pull him close.

There were moments when it got too much, and Aaron needed to take a few hours away from it, he tried to ignore the guilt as best he could, and Daryl and Jesus comforted him. Sometimes, Aaron just needed some time to himself. Usually, he'd spend it by Eric's grave, and he'd talk to him about it, that was where Daryl and Jesus would find him.

Daryl and Jesus were true to their words and never got upset when Aaron fell into his grief about Eric. It didn't bother them that he still wore his wedding ring and had no intention of taking it off. They'd smile when he talked about him, and Daryl joined in with stories of his own. The two of them liked to tell Jesus about him as Jesus had never really had the chance to get to know him. Daryl and Jesus would hold him when he cried.

One night, about three months after they had first started their relationship, they had just been relaxing in Daryl and Jesus' house. Jesus was working on some plans for an upcoming scavenger hunt, Aaron and Daryl were on the couch, Daryl half on Aaron's lap as they whispered to each other and tried not to fall asleep.

When Jesus finally finished with his plans, he made his way over to the two men and kissed them both firmly and sweetly before he smiled at Aaron and asked him if he wanted to stay the night. He had the fingers of one his hands twirling through Aaron's curls, and his other hand holding his jaw as he brushed his thumb over his stubble. Aaron had shaved off his monster of a beard a few weeks after they had gotten together, finally realising how much of a mess it was, not neat and attractive like Jesus' was.

They hadn't done that yet at that point, and Aaron thought it over for a few moments before nodding and maneuvering Daryl out of his lap. The three of them made their way up the stairs, Daryl leading the way with his ridiculously slow walk, for whatever reason, Daryl was unusually sleepy that night. The three of them settled into the queen size bed, and it was a bit of a squish, but Aaron felt comfortable and warm. Jesus laid in the middle of the bed, with Aaron and Daryl on either side of him, both men resting their heads on his chest and their legs were thrown over Jesus'. Jesus had his own arms around both of their shoulders and was stroking their hair as Daryl and Aaron played with each other's fingers over Jesus' chest. They chatted for a while, but they eventually drifted off to sleep, and it was the most peaceful and relaxing sleep Aaron had had in a long time.

When Jesus left for the scavenger hunt two and a half weeks later, Aaron hadn't spent a night back in his bedroom, enjoying the comfortability and peacefulness that came with sharing the bed with Daryl and Jesus. While Jesus was gone on his two-week trip, Aaron and Daryl had ended up having sex.

Aaron was hesitant at first, not that he didn't want to, because he did, but he didn't know if Jesus would be upset if they had sex while he was gone. Not because Jesus would feel that he had to be there with them, but that he might be little upset he didn't know. Aaron wasn't really sure, maybe he was just making up excuses for being plain nervous.

Daryl had reassured him that Jesus wouldn't mind and that he had said to Daryl before he left that it was completely okay if things got sexual for the first time while he was away.

They had been in bed, and they were talking about how neither of them liked how much bigger it felt without Jesus in it with them when they had begun kissing. After the clarification about Jesus, and that they both wanted it, the two of them got more into it and slowly began removing each other's clothes.

They worshipped each other's bodies for a long time before any actual stimulation pleasure came into it. At first, it was just rubbing each other's cocks. Aaron told Daryl that he was versatile and that if he wanted to have penetration sex, he would enjoy it thoroughly either way. Daryl had smiled at him and told him that while both he and Jesus were technically also versatile, Daryl enjoyed being on the bottom more, and Jesus the same with being on the top.

They took things slow, more body worship and kissing before Daryl had rummaged around in the nightstand for condoms and lube. He explained that he and Jesus didn't use condoms anymore, but as he and Aaron hadn't been together before and Aaron hadn't been tested by The Kingdom's new doctor, he wanted Aaron to wear one and Aaron of course agreed.

Aaron took his time stretching Daryl open, enjoying every single moment of it. He thought about Eric a few times, and as to be expected, felt some guilt, but he soon became too wrapped up in how amazing it felt to have Daryl beneath him.

In total, the sex lasted over an hour, and in Aaron's eyes, it was absolutely perfect. Getting Daryl to come had taken a while as Aaron hadn't had sex in three years and was a little off his game, but once he did, Daryl had looked so gorgeous and sexy with his eyes squeezed closed, and his lips parted as Aaron's name fell from them.

Once they had finished, they settled onto the bed with Aaron spooning Daryl, and before he knew it, he was crying. He was overwhelmed at having sex for the first time in a long time with his new boyfriend, and that he had begun thinking about Eric and their first time in specific.

Daryl had seemed to understand without Aaron having to tell him, and he rolled over and took him into his arms and let him cry as he petted his hair and kissed his cheek.

When he was done crying, Aaron felt the embarrassment and quickly begun to apologise, but Daryl had immediately shushed him.

When Jesus returned home four days later, it was early morning, and both Daryl and Aaron were still sleeping. Jesus crawled into bed with them and kissed them both awake, those soft greeting kisses quickly turned to deeper ones, and Aaron was soon under Jesus with Daryl laying on his side by him and sucking at his neck.

The sex was even better with Jesus there. Sure, it was a little overwhelming to have two naked men kissing and touching him, but it was still amazing. Jesus had stretched him open thoroughly as he knew it had been a long time since Aaron was on the bottom. Jesus began thrusting in and out of him while one of Daryl's hands was between their bodies and stroking his cock, his other playing with his hard nipples. After a few minutes, Daryl's mouth ended up on his neck, and Jesus' mouth on his own.

Aaron had groaned when he felt Daryl position himself so that he could grind his cock against Aaron's thigh, and it barely took five minutes for Daryl's moans to increase, and Aaron felt the man's come spurt against his skin.

Aaron came hard, moaning loudly into Paul's mouth and clawing his nails down his back as he made a mess of his stomach with his own come. Once Jesus had come a few moments later, he rolled off of Aaron, carefully pulling out of his sensitive body and then pulling his condom off and knotting the end before he threw it into the bin at the other side of the room.

Aaron had enough energy to mumble "Nice shot," before he sighed heavily and relaxed onto the bed.

Jesus chuckled and kissed his cheek as he settled down behind Aaron who had rolled onto his side to move into Daryl's chest. Aaron fell asleep quickly, feeling incredibly safe and comfortable between the two men.

 

* * *

  

Falling in love was something Aaron never expected to happen to him again, especially with two people at the same time, that also happened to love him back.

It took Aaron almost nine months to be able to tell Jesus and Daryl that he loved them, even though he knew after just a few months.

He had told the two men on a peaceful morning, they were out in the woods, checking traps and just enjoying going for a nice quiet walk. After an hour or so, they sat down by the river and Daryl pulled some food out of his bag, and they ate eagerly as they hadn't had breakfast before they left their house.

Aaron stayed silent while he pondered if he could pluck up the courage to let Daryl and Jesus know how he felt. The other two men talked about nothing in particular while Aaron stayed silent. That went on for on about half an hour before Jesus finally turned to Aaron and reached out, he wrapped his arms around his back and Aaron snorted a laugh as Jesus pulled him closer to him and his scruff tickled his cheek as he kissed his jaw.

Daryl smiled at both of them and placed his hand on Aaron's thigh.

"Why're you so quiet?" Jesus asked as he began to kiss down Aaron's neck.

"Just thinkin'," Aaron replied and wrapped an arm around Jesus’ shoulders and smiled when the long-haired man's lips moved from his neck to kiss his forehead.

"What about?" Daryl asked, beginning to stroke his thigh.

Aaron smiled shyly at the both of them and took a deep breath before his eyes flickered between both Daryl and Jesus. "I love you, I love both of you," He said, a weight feeling like it had been lifted off his chest and he couldn't help smiling back shyly when both Daryl and Jesus' faces lit up.

"I love you," Jesus said and placed his lips on Aaron's.

Aaron kissed him back with a hum. He could hear shuffling, and within a few seconds, Daryl was beside him and pressing his lips against Aaron's cheek. "Love you," His heavy accent voice filled Aaron's ears, and he pulled away from Jesus' kiss to cup Daryl's cheek and kiss him instead.

That night, after spending several hours in the woods, they then spent some hours apart doing jobs when they got back to the community. It was late noon when they had met up at the house again, and ended up making love for several hours.

Once they were finished, Jesus and Daryl fell asleep, and Aaron carefully crept out of the room and down the stairs to the kitchen to make some dinner, his stomach was rumbling, and he thought it would be nice for his boyfriends to wake up to a nice meal.

He wasn't entirely sure what made him want to do it, but he began pulling out ingredients, and within fifteen minutes he was cooking Eric's spaghetti recipe, a smile on his face as he did.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron had a bad day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided that I wanted to write more of these three together, but I didn't want to have to develop a whole new big plot and story, so I decided just that I'd keep putting little add-ons to this fic, as I already had written their whole development of their relationship and I can write fun stuff! 
> 
> For sure feel free to leave suggests in comments for stuff you want to see in future chapters!

Aaron blinked awake suddenly with a quiet pant, he was looking into darkness. The bedroom was almost entirely dark apart from the small amount of moonlight that was filtering through the large bedroom's windows at the head of the bed and on the wall to Aaron's right.

His heart was thumping, and his t-shirt was sticking to his armpits with the sweat he had produced during his dream. It hadn't even been a nightmare, it was a sweet dream, a snippet of a moment Aaron and Eric had shared on their honeymoon, Aaron tackling Eric under the waves of the gorgeous beach they had visited.

He squeezed his eyes closed and rubbed a hand over his face, his stubble was getting a bit long again, he was due for a shave.

There was a shuffle and a small sigh from beside him, and Aaron looked over. Jesus had rolled over in his sleep and was now facing him, his beautiful face a little smooshed against the pillow. They had managed to find a bigger bed, they now had a king instead of a queen, and the three men now fitted more comfortably and didn't wake up whenever one of them so much as moved during the night.

Aaron watched him for a moment, and he was tempted to reach over and kiss his forehead or push some of his hair back from his eyes, but he knew Jesus was a light sleeper and would wake up at the slightest touch. So Aaron left him be.

Being as careful and as quiet as he could, Aaron pushed himself up and climbed off the bed.

He watched with a small wince as both Daryl and Jesus shifted, and he hoped that neither of them would wake and he would have to explain why he had gotten up. His lips quirked in a small smile as he just watched Jesus roll over again and he and Daryl curled into each other, settling again.

Aaron left the room, carefully pulling closed behind him and then making his way down the stairs.

He stopped by the front door, took his coat off the hanger and shrugged it on before leaning down and pulling his boots on. He was one of those people who slept with socks on, something Jesus said was 'just plain wrong,' but Aaron disagreed because his feet were always warm while Jesus would press his ridiculously cold feet and toes against his or Daryl's calves and thighs.

Once his boots were on, he stepped out of the house he shared with his two boyfriends. He slowly begun to stroll around, stopped by the horses, fed a carrot to both his and Jesus' horse before continuing on.

His feet led him to the graveyard subconsciously. He stepped around graves and head posts carefully as he walked to the one that marked his husband's resting place.

His feet knew the way, he could do it with his eyes closed.

He sat down when he reached it, right by the head post. He smiled softly at the sight of the bouquet of flowers that sat on the grave, Aaron usually put flowers down once a week, but he hadn't got it yet, and the bouquet he had put down a week ago that was beginning to die. Aaron knew that Jesus was behind it. He left flowers on the grave's of those he was close to, and for respect for Glenn as his wife was his best friend, and he must have left some for Eric too.

Aaron reached out and felt the yellow petals beneath his calloused fingertips.

He sat there for over an hour before he could hear footsteps approaching from behind him. He turned his head in search of who the person was, and he sighed softly when he spotted Jesus' figure walking through the graves to him.

Aaron felt the man's fingers play with his hair when he reached him.

"I'm sorry," Aaron murmured, his eyes still on Eric's head post. "Did I wake you?"

Jesus hummed from above him and then sat down behind him, he wrapped both of his arms around Aaron's middle and rested his chin on his shoulder.

"Heard the door close when you left the bedroom, figured you might have wanted some time alone. But it's been nearly two hours, got worried, had to come and check on you," Jesus told him, his voice still laced with sleep and Aaron felt a little bad that he had woken him up.

"Had a dream, needed some fresh air,"

"A bad dream?" Jesus replied, and he tucked his hands into the pockets of Aaron's coat, Aaron had realised that the man hadn't put his trench coat on and must be cold.

"No, it was a good dream, but sometimes they're still hard to have," Aaron replied, and then he shifted, he pushed himself up on his hands and grunted as his pack popped. He held his hand out for Jesus to take, he didn't like that the man was cold because of him. "Let's go back,"

Jesus frowned at him, "It's okay, we can stay and talk if you like?"

Aaron shook his hand and bounced his hand a little, Jesus sighed and took it and allowed Aaron to pull him up.

They began to make their way out of the graveyards, their hands were clasped together between them, and Jesus didn't seem to mind Aaron's slow pace.

When they got back to the bedroom, Daryl was still fast asleep on his side of the bed. Both Aaron and Jesus carefully climbed back into the bed, not wanting to wake the peaceful hunter. Jesus settled in the middle of the bed and held his arm out for an invitation for him.

Aaron sighed heavily but took Jesus up on it, and he crawled closer to him. He settled with his head on the man's shoulder and enjoyed the feeling of Jesus running his fingers along his shoulder blades over his t-shirt. It was only a few minutes later that Jesus drifted off again, but Aaron only just fell back asleep when the sun slowly started to rise.

 

* * *

 

Jesus stood in the doorway watching the curly headed man who was stretched out in their bed. It was nearing ten am, and Paul had figured that once he had found the man in the graveyard last night, that today wouldn't be a good day.

"Aaron," He finally said and stepped a little further into the room, and the man peaked up at him from the bed. "Do you think you're going to get up today, babe?" He asked softly, and he reached out and brushed his thumb along the wrinkles on Aaron's forehead.

Aaron shrugged, and Jesus could hear Daryl stop in the doorway. "Maybe in a few hours, I just wanna stay here now," Aaron finally mumbled and tugged the blankets a little further up his body.

"Do you want us to stay home with you?" Daryl asked, he had now stepped over to them and was sitting down on the bed by Aaron.

Aaron quickly shook his head, "No, go hunting. Find me some rabbit, I feel like a stew." He said, and Paul smiled back when the man attempted to give them a smile. Both Jesus and Daryl knew that sometimes Aaron did like to be alone, and if that was what he wanted, they wouldn't deny it.

"We'll be back later this afternoon then alright? if you're sure?" Daryl replied and sighed softly when Aaron nodded. He leaned forward and kissed Aaron quickly, "Love you," He whispered against his cheek before he stood back.

"Try and talk to us tonight, okay? Love you," Jesus said to the man and kissed his cheek before he spun on his heels and made his way to Daryl who was at the door, and he kissed him to when he reached him.

"Love you's too," Aaron mumbled, and then he closed his eyes.

 

* * *

 

Jesus and Daryl returned to the house almost four hours later, Daryl's arm was around Jesus' shoulders and was holding him close to his side. Jesus held Daryl's crossbow for him, and Daryl had the game bag which had a few rabbits remaining in it after they had given most of their catches to inventory.

Daryl pulled the front door open when they reached the house and took a step back to allow Jesus to step inside first.

"Why, thank you, kind sir," Paul smirked as he stepped through the door, stopping a moment to peck Daryl's lips. Daryl playfully squeezed his butt in response.

Paul smiled wide when he spotted Aaron on the couch and reading one of the books from Paul's collection.

Aaron looked up, folding the page he was on as he did. "Hey, did you catch me any rabbits?" Aaron asked as they both walked over to him.

"Yes we did," Daryl replied as Paul kissed Aaron hello, and then did so himself when Paul stepped out of the way.

"Good, you two can help me cook dinner later then."

"Of course," Paul replied and dropped himself down on the couch beside the man, smiling when he wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him against his chest. "How about we talk now?" He then asked softly, tilting his head to look up at Aaron, he didn't want to push Aaron.

Daryl settled down beside Paul, and rested his chin on his shoulder, and reached out to grasp Aaron's hand.

Aaron smiled softly. "Okay," He said.

They settled on the couch, and they talked, really, it was just day that Aaron was really missing Eric. So most of their talking consisted of Aaron telling his two boyfriends about his and Eric's honeymoon, and how they spent it at the beach. Daryl had offered that maybe the three of them could have some sort of date the next time they traveled to Oceanside for trading.

Aaron had loved that idea, and he didn't see it as replacing the memories he had with Eric, just creating new memories with his two boyfriends.

After talking, Jesus had passed out on the couch, and Daryl and Aaron had covered him in a blanket and kissed his cheeks before they went across the room to the kitchen and attempted to cook rabbit stew as quietly as they could manage.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron wanted to find out more about Jesus' life from before the outbreak, but it didn't go well.

Aaron watched Jesus from where he sat a few meters from his left. They were on The Hilltop's balcony, and Jesus was having a cigarette, and both of them were having a drink. Daryl was off hanging out with Maggie and Hershel Jr in the gardens, so Aaron and Jesus decided to come to the balcony as they had nothing else to do.

Aaron loved the balcony. It was where him, Jesus, and Daryl had confessed their feelings for one another almost ten months ago now.

"Hey," Aaron said softly, and Jesus immediately turned to look at him, some strands of chestnut hair falling into his face.

"What's up, babe?" Jesus replied, and took another drag of his cigarette.

"I don't know anything about you," Aaron sighed.

"What?" Jesus grunted, his brows were furrowed, and he had a deep frown on his face.

"I mean, I know nothing from before you first showed up at Alexandria. You've never told me," Aaron replied, not at all liking the look on his boyfriend's face. He felt nerves churn in his stomach.

Aaron watched as Jesus bit his lip, and he began to fiddle with his hands himself.

Jesus pushed some hair from his eyes and downed the rest of his glass of whiskey before he answered. "Well, I don't really talk about it with anyone," He mumbled, looking out at the community instead of at him.

"Have you with Daryl?" Aaron asked, and really, he had only been curious, but he recognised how it sounded the second he said it.

Jesus looked over at him again, and Aaron recognised the look on his face, but it had never been directed at him before. The man was pissed. "Are jealous or something? And yeah, I have talked about it with Daryl, but it took four fucking years for me to do it. Me and Daryl have been close for six years, and together for three and a half. Me and you haven't been for that long, only been close for a bit over a year or so, and together ten months. To you, that may seem like a long time, but shit's different for me. What do you fucking expect from me?" Jesus asked him, his voice wasn't raised, but it was cold and angered.

Aaron hated it, he hadn't meant for it to go like this. He just wanted to know more about one of the men he loved. He had been curious since they got together, but Jesus was a private person, so he had waited to bring it up. But apparently, he hadn't waited long enough apparently.

"No, Jesus, I'm not jealous," Aaron answered, and he attempted to shift closer to the other man, but he just moved back. It hurt. "I just want you to open up to me more. I want you to know you can trust me,"

Jesus sighed heavily and stood up, Aaron did the same.

"And now you think I don't trust you? What the fuck Aaron?" Jesus said, and Aaron wanted to cry, this hadn't gone at all how he had expected it to. He, Daryl and Jesus hadn't had a domestic argument before, and he wasn't at all liking that this was the first one. He had been under the naive expectation that they never would have one.

Aaron attempted to step closer to him, but it was unsuccessful as the man moved back again. "Jesus, please," He said quietly, looking the man in the eyes and he was certain he could almost see a shine of tears in them. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

Jesus shook his head and stepped close to Aaron for a moment. "It is not your fucking choice when I decide to talk to about my life before, alright? You should fucking respect me enough to wait." He said, face filled with anger as he looked at Aaron for just a few seconds before he stormed off the balcony and back into Barrington House.

Aaron watched him go in shock and waited for the sound of his footsteps thumping down the stairs to fade before Aaron also left. Aaron made his way out of Barrington House and towards their house slowly, and once outside, he could see Jesus at the stables tacking up his horse. Aaron decided it was probably best to let him be and continued towards the house.

Once he was inside, he shoved off his boots and was relieved to hear the sound of the tap running from their upstairs bathroom. That meant Daryl was home.

Aaron quickly made his way up the stairs and into the bedroom. By the time he entered the room, Daryl was sat down on the bed and about to pull open a book, but immediately placed it back down when he saw Aaron's expression.

"Hey, what's the matter, darlin'?" Daryl asked and held his arms out for him. Aaron had recently adopted that pet name, and it was the only pet name that he referred to him and Jesus by. Aaron kind of loved it.

Aaron sighed heavily and crawled onto the bed and rested his head on the hunter's chest. Daryl wrapped his arms around him and stroked his back with his big hands. "I fucked up," He mumbled into Daryl's shoulder, and then pressed a kiss to the warm skin before shifting so that he was sitting in Daryl's lap instead of laying on him.

Daryl looked up at him with his ocean blue eyes, his brows furrowed. He cupped Aaron's cheek with one hand and stroked his thumb along his cheekbone. "What're you talkin' 'bout?"

"I pissed off, Jesus," Aaron sighed.

"Is that why I saw him storming to the stables?" Daryl asked, concerned for both of his boyfriends because they were both obviously upset. Aaron nodded. "What happened?"

"I asked him about his life before, but I think I worded it bad, that it came off like I was pushing him. I wasn't trying to push him, I just wanted to know more about him. I feel bad, I don't like that he's upset with me,"

"What'd he say?" Daryl said after wiping away a tear that had leaked from Aaron's eye.

Aaron sniffled once, "He said that I should respect him enough to wait,"

Daryl sighed and then pulled Aaron down so that he was laying on his chest again. "He'll calm down soon, it's just a sensitive topic for him,"

Aaron nodded and inhaled Daryl's scent, "Okay. Would you go check on him, please? I think he was planning on taking the horse out. I know he can handle himself, but I don't want him to be out there alone if he's upset. Emotions influence."

"Sure," Daryl said and carefully maneuvered Aaron off him, so he was laying on his back on the bed, Daryl leaned down and kissed him softly before he crawled off the bed. "I'll come back soon, you alright here?"

"Yeah, go," Aaron replied and smiled softly.

Daryl petted his stomach affectionately and then left the room. Aaron waited until he heard the front door of the house close before he started sobbing.

 

* * *

 

Aaron blinked awake at a soft hand on his shoulder, squeezing. He furrowed his brows because he didn't even remember falling asleep, he looked out the window and found that it was completely dark, so he had been out for a few hours at least.

He finally looked to his other side and found Daryl looking down at him with a soft smile. "C'mon, dinner's ready,"

Aaron allowed the older man to help him stand up and then took the coat he held out to him. "What is it?" He asked quietly as he pulled it on and then sighed when the man wrapped an arm around his shoulders and began leading through the house.

"Some spaghetti. I used Eric's recipe," Daryl had replied as they started down the stairs.

Aaron's lips quirked in a smile, "It's the best one,"

Daryl chuckled throatily and pressed his lips against Aaron's temple, "Damn right it is," He said, and then noticing the confusion on Aaron's face when they continued through the house to the front door and didn't stop at the kitchen or dining table said "We're eating outside,"

"Oh," Aaron replied.

They made their way outside and to the picnic table close by the house, and Aaron was relieved to Jesus' figure there, pouring their drinks by the look of it.

Jesus looked up when they got close and stepped around the table to approach them. "Hey," He greeted quietly, and Daryl stepped to the side so Jesus would have room to pull Aaron into a hug.

"Hi," Aaron replied and sighed happily when Jesus' strong arms wrapped around him, and Aaron lowered his head to rest it on Jesus' shoulder. Aaron pressed his face into the man's neck and inhaled the slightly younger man's scent, and pressed several kisses against the warm flesh. "I'm sorry, I love you, I'm sorry," He began to apologise, and he could feel a lump forming in his throat.

Jesus shushed him and patted his back. "Don't, it's okay." He told him softly, and Aaron could hear here the clattering of Daryl serving out their food. "I'm sorry for how I over-reacted, I didn't mean to get so upset with you, it's just a sore subject,"

Aaron nodded and gave Jesus a squeeze. "I'm still sorry,"

Jesus pulled back from the hug and cupped his cheeks, their height difference made Aaron have to look down at him. "I'll tell you about it when I'm ready, okay?" He said after a few moments.

Aaron quickly nodded, and couldn't help himself from leaning down and pressing their lips together. They kissed for several long moments before they gradually pulled apart.

"I love you," Aaron murmured.

Jesus smiled softly. "I love you, now let's eat,"

Aaron nodded, and they both sat down, joining Daryl at the picnic table. Daryl had already sat down, but he politely waited for the two of them to finish making up and hadn't begun eating.

"All okay?" The oldest of the three asked, eyes flickering between them in concern.

Both Jesus and Aaron nodded, and Jesus punctuated it by pressing a kiss to Aaron's jaw.

Aaron sighed happily and shifted to sit just a bit closer to Jesus, and stretched his leg out, so it was pressed against Daryl's. The three of them began to eat, chatting and joking, all forgetting the argument that had occurred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a pt 2 to this chapter, for when Jesus is ready to tell Aaron about his past. But I didn't want to have to write a massive time-skip in this chapter when the next chapter is still meant to be set around this time. So the pt 2 won't be the next chapter, but a few after.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Late night talk.

Aaron was pulling his gloves off when a heavy head was suddenly rested on his shoulder. Aaron looked back, knowing that it would only be one of two people, but it was still surprising.

Aaron wasn't used to receiving romantic affection from Daryl and Jesus in public just yet, it only came out two weeks ago that Aaron had joined their relationship. Really, none of them had quite been ready to come out as being a polyamorous relationship, though it had been the three of them for near eleven months, they were still getting used to it themselves. But the three of them weren't left with much of a choice when Tara had approached Jesus one day, furious and asking how dare he cheat on Daryl with Aaron.

As it turned out, she had accidentally seen Aaron and Jesus kissing by the stables late one night, and without knowing any better, had assumed that Jesus was cheating was on Daryl. Jesus hadn't been upset by the accusation, it was a little hurtful that she would think of him as a man that would cheat on someone, but she had literally seen him kissing another man without knowing the situation so he couldn't blame her.

The three of them came out after that, and a lot of people were shocked. A few people had never even heard of a polyamorous relationship, or others thought it was wrong or strange. Aaron had also been living in the house with the two men for seven months, but everyone had just thought it was a roommates relationship, and that the closeness the three men shared, was only platonic when it came to Aaron. Maggie was the only one that had known the entire time, as Paul had confided in her about his feelings for Aaron when they first surfaced.

He found Daryl to be the one resting on his shoulder, and he carefully turned around to face the other man.

"Hey, didn't know you were back yet," Aaron greeted him and pressed a kiss to the man's cheek. Daryl had gone out on a scavenging mission two days ago with Rick, if it could even be called that really, it seemed like the two brothers just needed some time to catch up or something along those lines.

Daryl grunted softly and basically slumped against Aaron, and he had to hold up a decent amount of the older man's weight. "Tired," He mumbled quietly.

"I can see that, sweetheart," Aaron replied and rubbed the man's sides, "Come on, I'm finished here, I've cut enough wood for one day, let's go home,"

Daryl put up no argument and allowed the taller man to wrap an arm around his shoulders and lead him back to their home.

Once in the bedroom, Daryl immediately made his way to the bed and was just about to collapse onto it when Aaron grabbed him by his hips and stopped him.

"Come shower first," Aaron told him and began re-directing him to the bathroom.

Daryl grunted, "Don't need no shower,"

Aaron smirked softly and began undoing the buttons on Daryl's shirt, "You stink,"

"So?"

"Jesus won't share a bed with you if you stink and are covered in grime," Aaron told him, starting on the man's belt.

"Paul can suck it,"

"Well he won't do that either," Aaron said with a smirk, and it earned a snort out of Daryl.

"Where is he anyway? Couldn't find him," Daryl then asked as he stepped into the shower while Aaron undressed.

"He went out on a ride with Maggie, he should be back soon," Aaron replied and stepped into the water himself.

They spent about twenty minutes in the shower, Aaron washed Daryl thoroughly, from his hair to his toes. Once he had Daryl clean, he urged the man to dry himself off and get into the fresh pair of boxers on the vanity while Aaron washed.

By the time Aaron was out of the shower, the older man was already passed out on the bed.

 

* * *

 

 

Jesus had been informed by Eduardo when he and Maggie got back from their ride that Daryl had returned home from his scavenger trip with Rick, and Jesus was excited to see him. It had only been two days, but he had still missed him.

The house was quiet when he got back to it, and he immediately made his way up the stairs in search of the two loves of his life.

He found them both in the bed, Daryl was laying on the side closest to the bathroom and was fast asleep. Aaron was beside him in the middle of the bed, he was sitting with his back against the headboard and a book in his lap.

"Hi, babe," Jesus greeted the awake man, as he began unbuttoning his shirt.

"Hey, honey," Aaron replied with a soft smile, and Jesus smiled back at the pet name. Aaron had a few different pet names for him, but honey was Jesus' favorite.

"He okay?" Jesus asked and squatted down by Daryl, and carefully pushed some hair back from the man's face.

Aaron nodded, "Yeah, he's just exhausted,"

"Let's hope he sleeps well then," Jesus said softly and then kissed Daryl's head before he stood back up, and he leaned over the man, and so did Aaron, and the two met for a soft kiss. "I'm gonna go shower, okay? I'll see you in a minute,"

"Okay, I'll get started on some dinner. Daryl might not wake up until the morning, and he'll be hungry when he does,"

"I'll help you when I come out," Jesus replied and then stepped into the bathroom, and he closed the door behind him so the sound of the shower hopefully wouldn't wake Daryl.

 

* * *

 

 

Several hours later, all three of them were settled into the bed.

Daryl in the same spot he had been since he first got into the bed, and Aaron was back in the middle of the bed, Jesus had let him steal his usual spot for the night because Aaron had really wanted to be able to snuggle up to Daryl, but still have Jesus snuggle him.

Except, Aaron wasn't doing much snuggling to Daryl. He was about a foot back from Daryl and was staring at the older man's back. The flesh was incredibly scarred, and Aaron knew that the man's chest was the same. Aaron had first seen them a long time ago, the first time they had had sex, but he had never asked about them before.

Aaron reached out and traced his fingers along one of the larger scars, "How could anyone do this to him?" He asked softly, aware that Jesus was still awake behind him due to the man's fingers tracing patterns on his hip bones.

Jesus sighed heavily and kissed Aaron's shoulder, "I don't know, I really don't,"

"He's so precious, and beautiful, and amazing," Aaron said, and there was a lump in his throat because he was getting emotional just thinking about it, "How could anyone ever want to hurt him like this? He's the most selfless, caring person, he doesn't fucking deserve the shit that was given to him,"

Aaron wiped a tear away from his eye and then squeezed them closed when Jesus kissed his shoulder.

"Well, my daddy didn't see it that way," Daryl's husky voice suddenly filled the quiet bedroom.

Aaron blinked in shock a couple of times, "I'm sorry, I woke you," He said and licked his lips.

"It's okay," Daryl replied and reached behind him to grab Aaron's arm and then throw it over his torso and held his hand in front of his own stomach. "Guess we've needed to talk about this,"

Aaron nodded against the man's shoulder, and squeezed his hand, Jesus squeezed Aaron's hip.

Aaron sighed heavily before he began to spoke, "I've seen the scars before obviously, but I thought it was Negan who did it, I never even thought that you were abused as a kid,"

Daryl hummed softly, and Aaron wanted the man to be facing him, but he figured that Daryl was probably more comfortable not having to look at him, and Daryl's comfortability was the most important thing.

"Negan liked to humiliate me, stripped me naked, forced me to stay in a dark cell with my own piss, shit, and vomit. Fed me dog food. The one time he actually physically hurt me, was when he had me think I could escape, but it was a set up for him to put about seven of his men on me at once, beat me till I passed out,"

Aaron squeezed his eyes closed, and more tears dripped out of his eyes. He felt Jesus tense behind him, Jesus was obviously already aware of all of it, but understandably was still upset by it.

Aaron swallowed thickly, squeezed the man's hand and then spoke again. "Did he- or they…" He trailed off, not entirely sure what the best way to word it was.

Daryl shook his head, "He never raped or sexually assaulted me, never ordered his men to either, but he and they definitely threatened it a couple of times. That was when I stopped fighting it, just went by day by day until Jesus showed up. I was a virgin back then, I've never been with anyone other than you and Paul, so I was terrified of something like that happening,"

"Oh god," Aaron sighed and kissed Daryl's shoulder, "I'm so sorry, I'm so fucking glad he's dead. You didn't deserve that,"

"I know," Daryl replied quietly and played with his fingers over Aaron's knuckles.

"What about your dad?" Aaron then asked, and he felt Jesus shift down the bed until he was snuggled up with his face between Aaron's shoulder blades.

"Nothing like that with him either. He just beat me, with his body or whatever he could get his hands on. He'd belt me too, use his belt on my back and chest, that's what the scars are from,"

"He didn't deserve you, he didn't deserve to have a son like you,"

Daryl hummed softly, and Aaron felt Jesus kiss his back gently.

"He's gone now, I don't think about him much anymore, don't get nightmares as often. Paul helped me through a lot of the shit I had from him,"

Jesus reached over Aaron's body and grasped Daryl's hip, "I love you, baby," He said softly, but still loud enough that Daryl could hear him.

That was when Daryl decided to roll over, "Wanna be in the middle," He said quietly, eyes flickering over Aaron's body.

Aaron smiled at him and patted his cheek softly before the two of them did an awkward shuffle over each other so Daryl could lay in between him and Jesus.

They settled with Daryl's head resting against Jesus' chest, and Aaron's on Daryl's shoulder and the three of them were a mess of arms and legs tangled.

"Sleep again now," Daryl said softly, "Can talk more later tomorrow if you want, just need sleep,"

Aaron nodded and leaned up to kiss the man's lips softly and lovingly, and then did the same to Paul. "Okay, goodnight, I love you so much, and I love you too, Jesus,"

"Call me Paul," Jesus replied, looking at Aaron seriously for a few moments before he smiled a little.

Aaron smiled wide because he had wanted to call Jesus by his real name ever since they had become close, but Daryl had said to him that he didn't call Jesus by his real name until he had told him too, so Aaron had also decided to wait.

"I love you, Paul," Aaron corrected himself.

"I love you too," Jesus replied and reached over to brush his fingers through Aaron's curls, and then he pressed his lips against Daryl's forehead, "And I love you, sweetheart,"

Daryl's lips turned up in a small smile, "Love you both," He managed to mumble, his voice thick with sleep.

All three of them closed their eyes and allowed themselves to drift off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was thinking that the next chapter could be a flashback to Rick and Daryl's run? That would have been when they talked about Daryl's relationship, you know, Rick being curious and making sure that his brother is happy. Would ya'll be into reading that?
> 
> REMEMBER - I'm up to suggestions for the plot for this fic, I haven't got anything planned out and just write the ideas as they come. So feel free to tell me some stuff you wanna see, and I'll take it into consideration.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Daryl on their run. 
> 
> \-----
> 
> This chapter took place before the last one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The timeline of Michonne's pregnancy is a bit off in this fic, as she gets pregnant like five years after she did in the show, but ah well. I'm not following any of season 9 canon. In this fic, just assume that everything is canon before season 9. So start of 1, to the end of 8. Oh, but Carl didn't die, because fuck that, I will never write Carl as dead in any of my fics, so even if he doesn't appear at all, he's still alive.

It was six am when the alarm clock on Daryl's bedside table woke him, and he quickly groaned and rolled off of Jesus' chest to slam his hand down on the off button.

Both Aaron and Jesus groaned themselves awake beside him, and Aaron squinted before burying his face in Jesus' neck.

"Sorry," Daryl said quietly and rolled back over to press his lips against Paul's, smiling fondly when the man lazily pressed his own back. "I gotta get up now,"

"Why?" Aaron huffed, his voice muffled.

"Going on a scavenger trip with Rick, remember?" Daryl replied and stood up from the bed, smiling at Paul when the man finally blinked his eyes open and looked at him.

"Going straight away?" The bearded man asked sleepily.

Daryl nodded, "Just gotta get changed," Daryl said and walked over to where he had sat his clothes on the dresser.

He pulled them on, and then stepped back over to the bed, and crawled onto it, so he was laying over Aaron and Paul. Aaron lifted his head from Paul's neck and raised his arm to tangle his fingers in Daryl's hair and pull him into a kiss.

Daryl kissed him back for a few moments, and then kissed Paul too before he stood straight again, "I'll see you two in a couple of days," He said, and smiled fondly as he watched the two sleepy men curl into each other.

"Be safe," Both men said in sync.

"I will," He replied and walked out of the bedroom, "I love you!" He called to them as he made his way down the hall towards the stairs, and he smiled when he heard the mumbles of both his boyfriends saying the same words back.

 

* * *

  

Rick and Daryl's first day passed smoothly, they arrived at the old mall four hours from The Hilltop without any problems. Daryl slept the first two hours of the car ride, he, Aaron and Paul had been up late the previous night having several rounds of sex and had seemed like a good idea at the time, but he was tired now. They spent the day raiding the mall, placing the things they planned on keeping in the Optometrist store that they had decided to stay in as it was close to the door they had entered the mall through, but hidden among a decent amount of other shops that if other people showed up, it wouldn't be the first place they checked.

The two men chatted happily as they worked, and it took eight years, but Daryl doesn't mind chatting anymore, as long as it's with his friends and not with people around the communities that he didn't really know. Daryl wasn't stupid, he was aware of why Rick had requested that the two of them go on a scavenging mission together, something that Daryl, Aaron, and Paul still did often, but Rick was Alexandria's leader, and scavenger missions weren't exactly in his job description anymore. It had been out for two weeks that Aaron was now with him and Paul, and Daryl knew that Rick might be hurt that he hadn't told him, and was probably plain curious also.

It became apparent after a few hours that Rick wasn't going to be the one to bring it up, and that Daryl would have to.

He decided to wait until later that night when they had finished for the day and were eating. They had been given soup that they could heat up over a fire. They made the fire out in one of the mall's corridors instead of the small room that they planned on spending the night in.

"So," Daryl said after swallowing a mouthful of soup, "You gonna ask about my new relationship status or what?" He asked, a smirk playing on his lips when the ex-Sheriff looked up at him wide-eyed.

"Uh," He replied, and shifted awkwardly, "I didn't know if you'd want to talk about it,"

Daryl smiled and collected more soup onto his spoon, "I ain't the same person I was eight years ago, Rick," He said to the man, and smiled around his spoon. "You can ask whatever you want, don't worry,"

Rick smiled almost shyly and nodded, "Okay," He said, "So, you and Jesus have been together, like three and a half years?" He asked with a quirked brow, and then continued when Daryl nodded, "So, when did Aaron become a part of that?"

"Aaron joined our relationship about ten months ago, but me and Paul had feelings for him, and he had feelings for us for since about two to three months before that,"

Rick nodded in understanding and had a few more mouthfuls of his soup before he spoke again. "How did it come about? Like, how did Aaron know that you and Jesus had feelings for him and that he had feelings for you's?"

"Aaron kissed me one day, he didn't really mean to, our faces were close and he just kinda did it," Daryl started, and smiled at how intently Rick was listening and at the memory itself, "He felt real' bad about it. Me and Paul went and met him on the balcony of Barrington House, and we talked about it for a while, but it was overwhelming for all three of us. So, we took a few days to make sure we knew what we wanted before we met up again and discussed it at length,"

Rick nodded and scoffed down more of his soup. "So, there isn't any jealousy between the three of you?"

Daryl quickly shook his head as he reached for his water, "We all love each other equally. No jealousy,"

"When it comes to sex…" Rick asked after being quiet for almost a minute, a wince on his face as if he wasn't sure what Daryl would think of that question. When Daryl snorted, Rick continued, "Is it constant threesomes? Or is one of you gone sometimes? Who… Who does what? Is there one of you who… gets worn out," Both of them are blushing by the time Rick finished.

And if it were anyone else, Daryl would have told them to fuck off, but it was Rick, his best friend. So, he took a mouthful of soup and a swig of his water and rubbed his hand over his face before he continued, "Sometimes it's threesomes, and sometimes it isn't. It depends who's home, who's in the mood, what we're in the mood for," Daryl said, and he could not meet Rick's eyes for the life of him. But like Daryl, Rick had grown up in a small town in Georgia, and probably had never come across a polyamorous relationship before, and was curious. "And well… Paul tops most of the time, I bottom most of the time, and Aaron's versatile and happy with either. And there's heaps of other stuff to do other than penetration,"

Rick nodded, "Alright…" He replied, and Daryl could see the smirk on his face. They were silent for all of one minute before Rick snorted, and that triggered Daryl, and the two of them burst into loud laughter that had tears rolling down their cheeks.

 

* * *

  

Another two hours later, they were laying in the Optometrists on their sleeping bags and mattresses they had gotten from a camping store. They had played a game of cars after they had finished dinner, and then just chatted more before setting up their beds.

"Michonne's pregnant," Rick said after they had been laying in darkness for a few minutes.

Daryl turned his head towards the younger man, even though he couldn't actually see him. "Yeah?" He asked, and he heard Rick grunt in reply, "How do you feel about it?"

He heard the man sigh heavily, "For the baby, I'm excited as hell. I love Carl and Judith so much, and the idea of another little one makes me so happy," He began to explain, "But, Lori died giving birth to Judith, and I'm terrified that the same would happen to Michonne. I don't think I could survive without her,"

"Rick," Daryl said quietly, and rolled onto his side and shifted closer to the other man until he could see him. Rick turned his head towards him, and Daryl could vaguely make his eyes out. "Think about how different things are now. We got real doctors now, safe communities, and Michonne's a lot healthier than Lori was back then,"

Rick sighed heavily, "I know I need to be there for her as much as I can, that she needs me now, gotta put my own shit to the side, I guess,"

"It'll be okay, Rick,"

He could make out Rick smiling at him, and Daryl smiled back before he rolled over onto his back again.

The two of them talked for another hour or so, but then eventually drifted off.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron wants to fuck Paul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just pure smut, so if you're not into smut, just skip it :)

Aaron licked his lips at the sight that awaited him when he stepped out of the ensuite bathroom.

Paul was laid out on their king size bed and was butt-naked. He wasn't there when Aaron had retreated into the bathroom to use to the toilet and shower, so he must have gotten back from checking the perimeters at some point while Aaron was in there.

He wasn't sure why Paul had stripped down, but he sure as hell, was not complaining. Aaron raked his eyes over Paul's body, and already felt his cock hardening from where it was hidden beneath the towel around his waist.

Paul was on his stomach, with his legs stretched out behind him, and was propped up on his elbows reading a book. His pale skin was entirely on display, along with the few scattered moles around his back. Aaron almost groaned at the sight of the man's amazing ass, it was plump and perk as a result of all the martial arts training and working out that he did.

There was something about seeing Paul laid out like that and completely naked, that almost drove Aaron crazy, and one of the first thoughts that went into Aaron's head, was how hot it would be to fuck Paul while he was laid out like that.

It was no secret that Paul preferred to top, but Aaron had walked in on Daryl fucking him a couple of times, and Aaron had also been inside of him before, but technically the slightly younger man was still on top as he was riding him. Though Aaron had thoroughly enjoyed watching Paul move up and down on top of him, fucking himself down on his cock, he couldn't help himself from wanting to do the fucking.

He looked at Paul for a few more moments, before he dropped his towel and then crawled on top of Paul. He sat himself down on the man's upper thighs and then reached forward to grab himself two handfuls of Paul's muscled ass.

Paul, who had surely known he was there the entire time, looked back over his shoulder at him with a quirked brow, "What are you up to, babe?"

Aaron smiled at him and began massaging the pale flesh in his hands, "I'm just touching," He replied.

Paul huffed a laugh and closed his book before folding his forearms and then resting his head on them, "That all you want to be doing?" He asked, looking at Aaron in a way that made it seem like he knew what he was thinking.

Aaron swallowed thickly, looked down at where he was still massaging Paul's ass, and then shrugged.

"Aaron," Paul said, a hint of playfulness in his tone.

"I want to fuck you," Aaron replied after a few moments, and then looked up at Paul again shyly.

Surprisingly, Paul smiled wide at him, and then rested his head back down on his arms. "Sure, go ahead,"

"Really? You sure?"

"Mhmm,"

Aaron immediately felt excitement swell in his gut, "Can you reach the lube?"

Paul nodded and stretched his arm out to grab the bottle of lube that was sat on the nightstand, he handed it to Aaron and then settled down again.

Aaron sat the lube down for a moment and grasped Paul's ass again. He used his hands to pull Paul's cheeks apart, and he moaned softly when the man's pink entrance was exposed to him. It twitched a couple of times, and Aaron gasped softly. He was tempted to lean down and rim him, but he knew the man really only liked giving them, so he refrained.

He merely looked at it for a few moments before he grabbed the lube. He squirted a generous amount of lube over two of his fingers, and then placed one at Paul's entrance. He smeared the lube around the pink pucker for a few moments to get it nice and slick.

"You ready?"

"Mhm,"

Aaron pushed the finger inside, and it was met with little resistance. Paul felt hot and tight around his finger, and he couldn't wait to get his cock inside.

He began thrusting his finger in and out of Paul's body and leaned down over his back as he did. He pressed kisses all over Paul's back, his shoulders, and then he used his nosed some hair out of his way so he could touch his lips against the man's neck.

Paul sighed softly, and Aaron felt him relax beneath him. Aaron pushed his finger back in, with it angled upwards, and smiled when he found the little bundle of nerves inside of Paul.

"Aaron," Paul moaned softly, and his hips jerked back into Aaron's hand.

Aaron groaned at his reaction and finished sucking a hickey on his neck before sitting up straight again, "You want another one?"

"Yeah, come on," Paul replied eagerly, his voice breathy and he spread his legs a little.

Aaron slipped in his second finger along with the first and started using them to scissor open the gorgeous man beneath him open. Paul opened up easily around him and seemed to be very much enjoying himself as he closed his eyes and began moaning quietly.

After a few more minutes of just two fingers, Aaron slipped them out and added lube to all three before he slowly began pushing them back inside. It didn't take long to work the three fingers inside, and Paul groaned when he felt himself stretched around them.

Aaron's cock was leaking steadily onto Paul's thighs at that point, and he didn't want to wait much longer, he was dying to be inside of him. He, of course, was not going to rush it though.

He worked his three fingers in and out of Paul for several minutes until the man was moaning and squirming beneath him.

"Aaron, come on," He said, arousal clear in his voice, "Fuck me,"

Aaron groaned at the man's words and slipped his three fingers out of him. He took several moments to appreciate how Paul's hole looked stretched and slightly gaping.

"You're fucking gorgeous, Paul," Aaron said, and leaned forward again, he used the hand that wasn't still wet with lube, to push Paul's sweaty hair back from his face, and he pushed his lips onto his.

They kissed for several long moments before Aaron sat back up, he shifted off Paul's thighs to push them apart before so he could settle in between them. He spread a generous amount of lube over his cock and then positioned himself so that the leaking head was pressed against Paul's entrance.

He used one hand to caress Paul's hip, and the other to hold the base of his cock as he slowly began to push inside. He was met with a small amount of resistance, but as Paul relaxed, Aaron slid deep inside of him.

Aaron moaned at the feeling of Paul's tight heat surrounding him, and Paul squirmed a little beneath him.

"Oh, fuck, Paul," Aaron whimpered as he bottomed out, and he threw his head back and squeezed his eyes closed.

Paul moaned beneath him and pushed back against Aaron's hips. "Come on, baby," He said.

That was all Aaron needed, he pulled back out, and then slowly pushed back in. He groaned loudly as he set a pace, and gripped Paul's hips firmly to give himself leverage.

He didn't go too fast or too slow, it was somewhere in between, and it seemed to be working just fine. Paul had moved up the bed to be able to rest his head on Daryl's pillow and was tightly gripping the sheets in his hands, his knuckles white with the effort.

After a while, Paul's hips lurched, and he cried out, his cute nose scrunching up. "Fuck, Aaron," He gasped, "Right there, come on,"

Aaron made a noise that sounded something like a whine and continued to fuck into the man, keeping his hips and thrusts at that angle, so his cock repeatedly moved against Paul's sensitive prostate.

Aaron had his head tilted down, and his eyes were glued to the almost mesmerizing sight of his cock disappearing into Paul's stretched and slick hole, and then reappearing.

"I'm... fuck, I'm gonna come," Aaron moaned after several glorious minutes, and he could feel the sweat dripping down his back and temples.

"Me too," Paul gasped, he was also sweaty and looked like he was on the edge of coming.

Aaron's thrusts grew erratic, and he could feel his orgasm building. He leaned down after several moments and pressed his front against Paul's back. He buried his face into Paul's neck as he began to come, his come spurting inside of the tight heat.

He felt Paul's thighs shaking beneath him, and the man let out a loud moan, and that let Aaron know that he had also come.

Aaron held himself above Paul for several moments, panting.

He leaned down and kissed Paul warmly as he gently pulled out. The sight of his own come leaking out of Paul's hole made him groan again, and he then proceeded to collapse down onto the bed beside Paul.

He looked over at Paul, found the man had a peaceful look on his face with his eyes closed.

Only a few seconds later, Daryl walked into the room.

"Aw, what did I miss?" He said, a small smirk on his face as he walked over to them.

Both Aaron and Paul groaned in reply, and Daryl leaned down to kiss them both hello.

Daryl chuckled and disappeared into the bathroom. Aaron crawled a little closer to Paul, resting his forehead against one of Paul's arms as he was resting his head on them again.

Daryl appeared after a few moments, and Aaron looked up when he felt Paul jump. Aaron looked down and found that Daryl was cleaning up Paul's entrance and thighs with a warm cloth.

Aaron felt a little bit of guilt, "I was gonna do that. I just needed to get my breath back,"

Daryl chuckled softly, and looked up at him, "It's okay, I don't mind," He replied, and then used the other side of the cloth the wipe at the sticky sweat on Paul's neck.

Aaron whined softly when he felt the cloth gently wipe at his soft and sensitive cock.

Daryl fussed over them for a few more moments before he stripped off down to his boxers, and then cuddled up behind Aaron, who had snuggled himself against Paul's chest.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments motivate me to write! Xxx 
> 
> Tumblr - iiloulouii


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